"Ray made the best decision for him," Pierce told the team's official website Thursday in his first public offseason comments. "That's what it's all about: You get in these situations, you become a free agent, and you make a decision based on what's best for you and your family. Ray will always be a brother for me. If it wasn't for him, I probably wouldn't be wearing a championship ring. So the things he was able to do for this organization, will never be forgotten."

Asked if he's talked to Allen since he spurned Boston's two-year, $12 million offer to sign with Miami for half the value, Pierce said, "A couple texts. I'm a little bitter that he went to Miami, but he's still a brother of mine."

Now that we have the Ray Allen stuff out of the way on to more positive stuff.

"I love what Danny's been able to do," Pierce said. "It was a tough decision this summer. A lot was riding on what direction we were going to head in. It was just a domino effect, once we signed Kevin, we knew were going to try to make another run at it. That's pretty much the way I looked at it. Once we signed him, a number of guys were able to jump on board.

"I thought Danny did a good job of trying to replace Ray Allen. As you know Ray Allen went off to Miami, on his choice, but he was a great teammate, it was fun playing with him. But I think the guys coming in here -- Jason Terry, Courtney Lee, trying to get a healthy Jeff Green, even some of our rookies -- I think we''ve added a lot more depth, and it's going to take a lot of pressure off me this upcoming season."

Click Here to watch the full Paul Pierce interview. He also discusses his excitement over getting to play with Jason Terry and his recovery from his knee injury.